List of largest cities in California by population

The following is a list showing the 100 largest incorporated cities in the state of California ranked by population, based on California Department of Finance estimates for January 1, 2009.

Note: These estimates are for the actual incorporated areas of the listed cities, as opposed to metropolitan areas, urban areas, or counties, and will therefore differ from other available population listings. Also, the California State Department of Finance uses different methods for estimating population than the United States Census Bureau, and therefore estimates from the two organizations will differ as well (the Department of Finance, however, does use the Census Bureau's decennial census figures as their base).

Rank	City	Population	County	Image	Description
1	Los Angeles	4,045,872	Los Angeles		Los Angeles is one of the world's centers of culture, technology, media, academics, business, and international trade. It is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and it is one of the most substantial economic engines of the United States. Los Angeles also leads the world in producing popular entertainment — such as motion picture, television, video games and recorded music — which forms the base of its international fame and global status.
2	San Diego	1,336,865	San Diego		Located on the border between Mexico and the United States, San Diego hosts miles of beaches and a number of U.S. Military facilities. San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair and construction, software development, telecommunications, and tourism.
3	San Jose	989,496	Santa Clara		San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777 as the first town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California, which later became Alta California. The city served as a farming community to support Spanish military installations at San Francisco and Monterey. When California gained statehood in 1850, San Jose served as its first capital. After more than 150 years as an agricultural center, San Jose experienced increased demand for housing from soldiers and other veterans returning from World War II, as well as aggressive expansion during the 1950s and 1960s by annexing more land area. By the 1990s, San Jose's location within the booming local technology industry earned the city the nickname Capital of Silicon Valley.
4	San Francisco	824,525	San Francisco		San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination renowned for its steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, and famous landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, Coit Tower, and Chinatown. The city is also known for its diverse, cosmopolitan population, including large and long-established Asian American and LGBT communities.
5	Long Beach	494,048	Los Angeles		The Port of Long Beach is one of the world's largest shipping ports. The city also has a large oil industry; oil is found both underground and offshore. Manufacturers include aircraft, automobile parts, electronic and audiovisual equipment, and home furnishings. It is also home to the headquarters for corporations such as Epson America, Molina Healthcare, and Scan Health Care. Long Beach has grown with the development of high-technology and aerospace industries in the area. In popular culture, Long Beach known as the home city of many rap artists including Warren G and Snoop Doggy Dogg.
6	Fresno	488,714	Fresno		Fresno is at the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, a leading agricultural area of the United States. Fresno is noted for being the largest city in the United States not on an Interstate highway and also the largest city in California that does not border on the Pacific Ocean.
7	Sacramento	475,743	Sacramento		Sacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley, it is the seventh most populous city in California with a 2007 estimated population of 467,343. Sacramento is the core cultural and economic center of its four-county metropolitan area (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties) with a combined population of 2,103,956. The Sacramento Metropolitan Area is the largest in the Central Valley, and is the fourth-largest in California, behind the Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the San Diego area. Greater Sacramento has been cited as one of the five "most livable" regions in America,and the city was cited by Time magazine as America's most integrated.
8	Oakland	420,183	Alameda		Oakland is a major West Coast port, and is home to several major corporations including Kaiser Permanente and Clorox, as well as corporate headquarters for nationwide businesses like Dreyer's and Cost Plus World Markets.Rand McNally named Oakland as having the best weather in the United States. According to the 2000 U.S. census, Oakland and Long Beach, California are the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States, with over 150 languages spoken in Oakland. Attractions include Jack London Square, the Oakland Museum of California, the Chabot Space and Science Center, Lake Merritt, the East Bay Regional Park District ridge line parks and preserves, and Chinatown.
9	Santa Ana	355,128	Orange	File:Santa Ana City Stadium.jpg	County Seat of Orange County. Home to the famous Bowers museum, Discovery Science Center, and John Wayne Airport. It is also home to the largest percentage of Latinos of any major American city.
10	Anaheim	347,428	Orange		Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of 2007, the city population was 345,556,[1] making it the 10th most-populated city in California[1] and ranked 54th in the United States. The city anticipates that the population will surpass 400,000 by 2014 due to rapid development in its Platinum Triangle area as well as in the affluent Anaheim Hills area. Anaheim is the second most populous city in Orange County (behind Santa Ana) and second largest in terms of land area, and it is known for its theme parks, sports teams, and convention center..
11	Bakersfield	329,562	Kern	File:06-16-03c.jpg	Bakersfield sits at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, an especially petroleum-rich area of California.
12	Riverside	306,240	Riverside		Riverside is considered by many to be the premier city of Southern California's Inland Empire region. Riverside is the birthplace of California's citrus industry. It's downtown is home to the Mission Inn, one of the two historic landmark hotels in California. The Mission Inn Festival of Lights is said to be the 3rd largest Christmas lights display in the nation.
13	Stockton	291,428	San Joaquin		Stockton is at the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and is sometimes considered the divider between the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley.
14	Chula Vista	232,145	San Diego
15	Fremont	214,879	Alameda
16	Modesto	210,506	Stanislaus		Modesto is in the center of the San Joaquin Valley east of San Francisco and south of the capital Sacramento. The city is surrounded by farm fertile land and its cities in the metropoltian area. Its population is growing fast due to the affordable housing as becoming a bedroom community
17	Irvine	210,048	Orange
18	Glendale	208,171	Los Angeles		Glendale is the focal point of the Verdugo Mountains subregion, and is well-known for hosting a large Armenian-American community.
19	San Bernardino	206,348	San Bernardino
20	Huntington Beach	202,117	Orange
21	Oxnard	194,905	Ventura
22	Fontana	188,498	San Bernardino
23	Moreno Valley	183,860	Riverside
24	Oceanside	178,806	San Diego
25	Santa Clarita	177,045	Los Angeles
26	Rancho Cucamonga	174,308	San Bernardino
27	Ontario	173,690	San Bernardino
28	Garden Grove	173,067	Orange
29	Pomona	163,405	Los Angeles		Home of the Los Angeles County Fair, the largest fair in the United States.
30	Santa Rosa	159,981	Sonoma	File:RRSq Statue.jpg	Santa Rosa is largest city in California's Wine Country. Notable residents have included famed horticulturalist Luther Burbank, and Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, and the surrounding Wine Country have served as the setting for many well-known films, including Alfred Hitchcock's personal favorite, Shadow of a Doubt.
31	Salinas	150,898	Monterey		Salinas is known for being an agricultural center as well as being the hometown of famed writer and Nobel prize laureate John Steinbeck.
32	Hayward	149,205	Alameda
33	Torrance	148,965	Los Angeles		Torrance, 21 square miles, is situated 11 miles south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), 8 miles north of the Port of Los Angeles, 30 miles west of Disneyland and bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west with 1.5 miles of beach. Incorporated in 1921, the population of Torrance is 148,965 with a peak daytime population of 203,111. Torrance is the sixth largest city in Los Angeles County and the 33rd largest city in California. Torrance enjoys a pleasant year-round climate with warm temperatures, sea breezes, low humidity and an average rainfall of 12.55 inches per year.
34	Pasadena	148,126	Los Angeles		Premier City of the San Gabriel Valley subregion; home of the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade, and the California Institute of Technology.
35	Palmdale	147,897	Los Angeles		Largest city of the California deserts.
36	Corona	147,428	Riverside
37	Lancaster	145,243	Los Angeles
38	Escondido	143,389	San Diego
39	Orange	140,849	Orange
40	Elk Grove	139,542	Sacramento
41	Sunnyvale	137,538	Santa Clara
42	Fullerton	137,437	Orange
43	Thousand Oaks	128,650	Ventura
44	El Monte	126,053	Los Angeles
45	Simi Valley	125,657	Ventura	File:2466075-Things To Do-Simi Valley.jpg	Home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
46	Concord	123,776	Contra Costa
47	Visalia	121,498	Tulare	File:Downtown Visalia2.jpg
48	Vallejo	121,097	Solano
49	Inglewood	118,878	Los Angeles
50	Santa Clara	115,503	Santa Clara
51	Costa Mesa	113,955	Orange
52	Downey	113,379	Los Angeles
53	West Covina	112,666	Los Angeles
54	Norwalk	109,695	Los Angeles
55	Roseville	109,154	Placer
56	San Buenaventura (Ventura)	108,261	Ventura
57	Burbank	108,029	Los Angeles		Home of the Walt Disney Company.
58	Victorville	107,408	San Bernardino
59	Fairfield	106,753	Solano
60	Berkeley	106,697	Alameda
61	Daly City	106,361	San Mateo
62	Carlsbad	103,811	San Diego
63	Richmond	103,577	Contra Costa
64	South Gate	102,816	Los Angeles
65	Temecula	101,057	Riverside	File:Temecula big.jpg	The heart of Southern California Wine Country.
66	Antioch	100,361	Contra Costa
67	Murrieta	100,173	Riverside
68	Rialto	99,767	San Bernardino
69	Compton	99,242	Los Angeles
70	Mission Viejo	98,572	Orange
71	Carson	97,960	Los Angeles
72	El Cajon	97,934	San Diego
73	Vacaville	96,905	Solano	File:Vacaville7.jpg
74	San Mateo	95,776	San Mateo
75	Vista	95,770	San Diego
76	Clovis	94,278	Fresno
77	Westminster	93,027	Orange
78	Santa Monica	91,124	Los Angeles		Home of the world famous Santa Monica Pier.
79	Santa Maria	91,439	Santa Barbara
80	Redding	90,491	Shasta		Located on the banks of the Sacramento River, Redding is the largest city in California north of Sacramento. It is the gateway to numerous recreation areas including Shasta Lake, the Trinity Alps, and Mount Shasta.
81	Santa Barbara	90,305	Santa Barbara
82	Hawthorne	90,014	Los Angeles
83	Alhambra	89,259	Los Angeles
84	Hesperia	87,820	San Bernardino
85	Citrus Heights	87,321	Sacramento
86	Chico	86,949	Butte		Chico is the retail hub of the mid-Sacramento Valley and is home to institutions such as Bidwell Park, California State University Chico, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.
87	Whittier	86,945	Los Angeles
88	Newport Beach	84,554	Orange
89	Livermore	83,604	Alameda
90	Lakewood	83,486	Los Angeles
91	Buena Park	82,768	Orange		Home of Knott's Berry Farm.
92	San Marcos	82,743	San Diego
93	Chino	82,670	San Bernardino
94	San Leandro	81,850	Alameda		Historically a town with dozens of huge cherry farms and a Spanish missionary ranch, San Leandro today is a rapidly growing city of worldwide industries and a suburb of Oakland. Founded in 1872, it is one of the oldest cities in California.
95	Tracy	81,548	San Joaquin
96	Indio	81,512	Riverside
97	Baldwin Park	81,281	Los Angeles
98	Merced	80,608	Merced
99	Redwood City	79,000	San Mateo
100	Chino Hills	78,957	San Bernardino

See also

• California census statistical areas
• List of urbanized areas in California (by population)
• List of cities in California